[SLUG-POL] Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Micro$oft is killing small town budgets- no mention of an alternative? (fwd)

From: R P Herrold (herrold@owlriver.com)
Date: Tue Oct 09 2001 - 01:43:17 EDT


Cross-post

I posted this over on another LUG --- in essence I suggest
that the time has come to 'go after' yammerheads. It seems
too much fun to not spread around and stir up comment with ...

Comments?

-- Russ

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2001 01:23:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: herrold <herrold@owlriver.com>
Reply-To: discuss@ntlug.org
To: discuss@ntlug.org
Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Micro$oft is killing small town budgets-
    no mention of an alternative?

Brass knuckles grass roots political advocacy time ...

On Sun, 7 Oct 2001, Steve Baker wrote:

> only work in Internet Explorer (they even had URL's
> containing backslashes!). This seemed like a pretty
> reasonable request - but I was met with a barrage of
> pro-Microsoft rhetoric/FUD - more than I've seen before in
> talking to IT people. He wouldn't even concede that their
> web site should be browser-neutral because some Windoze
> users prefer Netscape. ("They have the right tool for the
> job - why don't they use it." was his reply to that one.)

hmmm ... If that person is making statements like that, a fine
career in fast food preparation seems appropiate. Help that person
make a career move.

I'd send a paper letter, to the clerk of the governmental board,
indicating that I am visually impaired -- I am , I'm a Presbyterian,
and over 40, so my eyesight is failing [or is that presbyopic <grin
-- whatever>], and that I have to read some web pages in a text
browser (also true -- When I read The Register website for my weekly
BOFH, it looks so bad that I pop a copy open in Lynx).

Request an acknowledgement and a formal response; politicians who do
not respond to constituent inquires are called 'former'. Place a
copy in your 'follow up' file. Ask me for hints on using the
'calendar' program offlist if you need them.

That kind of admin/sysadmin has its {not clear if such vermin have
gender} mind made up, so let's get rid of it -- but it also is not
using ALT tags on images, and his site is inaccessible to a disabled
member of the community. And that makes it vulnerable and exposes
the governmental unit to a lawsuit. A cardinal sin ...

Copy the City Attorney, or whoever their legal counsel is ... and
the Editor of the local community newspaper a week later. Pick up a
$10 pair of glasses at the CVS to wear if a photog shows up with the
reporter.

_Ask_ if it is the policy of the governmental unit to intentionally
be inaccessible to the visually impaired (... don't directly say
'Handicapped' -- if asked, suggest that the term is demeaning, did
they MEAN to belittle you ...)

... and get the darn chair-warmer in trouble with his bosses.
You'll never convince him anyway -- so feed him pain.

Responding to FUD/'go away' defense deserves a pointed set of 'Joe
Friday' "The facts, ma'am, nothing but the facts". Costs, benefits,
dollars and cents and sense.

Having freed up that salary quantum, next a Public Records Act
request on the funds in each of the 3 past fiscal years spent of
proprietary software and support staffing seems in order. How many
Open Source sysadmins could have been bought for that sum? How many
viruses avoided? How much MORE productive COULD the unit have been?

-- Russ Herrold



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